Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-27
Leaders in London and New York-The
Author Of The Earthly
Paradise"


vast difference between Jnem-SO NdSt u
difference, indeed, that it seems absurd
to mention them in the same breath.
One, john Most, lives poorly and
plainly and is tabooed as q moral leper
by all save the few thousand men and
women who look upon him as the
coming "saviour of society" The
other, William Morris, enjoys all manner
of luxuries, and, though secretly dis
liked by those of his own rank in society.
is so eminent an artist and poet that few
have had the courage TO close their doors
against him. The general opinion in
London is that he is a "crank," and
consequently harmless. In New York,
on the other hand, the general opinion
is that John Most is n public nuisance
and should be summarily silenced.
A SKETCH OF THE PoET-ANARCH1sr's LIFE.
In both cities, however, the same men
who worship the one man worship the
other, and for precisely the same rea-
son-because they are confident that
these two men are destined to lead
"down-trodden humanity into the
promised land.
How close is the similarity between
these two men was shown to a Herald
reporter yesterday by well-known Eu-
ropean Anarchist who arrived IN this city
recently, and who has been for years
an intimate friend of both Morris and
Most.
at seems strange" he said, "but it's
true. In Morris's weekly paper, the
C0mmOnwedi, you read precisely the
same sentiments as appear IN Mosts
weekly paper, the FreiheH. Both men
condemn Henry George for not trying to
save the Chicago Anarchists, and both
maintain that society can only be re-
generated by n revolution. The men
who hold these opinions are known In
America as Anarchists, and in Great
Britain as social revolutiOnists.
"Morris's life has been strange one.
The son of well-to-do parents, he was
educated at Oxford, and while there his
first poems appeared in the Undergrad-
uatcs' Journal. A friend of Swinburne
and Rossetti, he was drawn into the pre-
Raphaelite movement, and about the
same time invested his money in fac
tory at Merton Abbey, where he pro-
posed to manufacture artistic furniture.
How he separated from Swinburne and
Rossetti and leaped into the front rank
of English poets by the publication OF
"The Earthly Paradise " is well known to
every one. When the social movement
sprang up in Great Britain few yearsago
he joined it with Hyndman, Mrs. Basant,
and others, and spared neither his money
nor his time in helping it forward. Two
years ago he and Hyndman agreed to
differ, and the result is that there are two
so-called Socialistic parties in Great
Britain to-day-Hyndman's, which be
leves in parliamentary agitation, and
Morris's, which believes in revolution.
Hyndman's party is almost the same as
Sheyitchs in this city, and Morris's is
exactly the same as John Most's.
HOW A WEALTHY ANARCHIST LIVES.
"Morris certainly practices what he
breaches. He keeps open house-and
his house, by the way, is one OF the
most artistic in England-and hardly a
day passes that Socialists do not dine and
spend the evening with him. Tho fur
niture, decorations, and surroundings
are in extremely good taste and Just what
one would expect to see in the residence
of the author of THE Earthly Paradise.
The dinners are plain but good, and no
pains are spared to make the guests feel
at home. The poorest Socialist is
treated in the same manner as the richest.
"Mr. Morris is married and has two
lovely daughters, who wait at table
whenever Socialists come to dinner.
Their father believes in medi9yalism
and that the modern institution Of do
nestle servants is a mistake. Conse-
auently he attires his daughters after the
Middle English style, and in this cos
tune they minister to the needs OF
hungry Socialists. May, the handsomest
of these two girls, is engaged to be mar
ried to Mr.. Sparkling, the secretary of the
Socialist League, whose salary is IS a
week. The marriage will take place just
as soon as the young man is able to pro-
vide home for his handsome bride.
Some people fancy that Mr.. Morris is ex-
tremelv wealthy and that his daughters
are heiresses, but the truth is all his
money is sunk in his factory, and he
only draws regular income ont OF it.
Mrs. Morris, / may tell you, is ex-
tremely handsome, extremely religious,
and the only member of the family who
is not pronounced social revOlutionist.
"What more can l say? Simply that
I have never spent and never expect to
spend pleasanter evenings than those
which | spent at Mr.. Morris's home, in
London. In New York there is no man
like him. If there were he would pro-
badly be boycotted. In London people
think twice before they boycott man OF
Mr.. Morris's intellectual calibre. Many
undoubtedly dislike him, but very few
have dared 10 ostracise him"
HOW JOHN MOST SPENDS HIS DAYS.
No such picturesque description can
lie given OF John Most's private life.
Compared with William Morris's it is
mean, commonplace, and even vulgar.
Hear how his most intimate friend de-
scribes it a:
Most's salary as editor of the Frei-
heit is about $40 a week. On such a
stipend he cannot live very luxuriously.
His evenings are generally spent in East
Side saloons with his followers and his
nights in fiat near Twenty-sixth street
and First avenue, where a young Ger
man woman named Lena Fischer keeps
house for him. His rooms are very
plainly furnished, and their rent cannot
be more than IS or $40 month. He is
devotedly attached to the Fischer girl,
who is the sister OF one of his followers,
and she thinks that he is the greatest
man in the world. Whenever he Is ar
rested she is the first person to whom he
sends the news.
"Most's wife was a very handsome
woman. The story goes that he Won
her affections by browbeating some stu
dents who were insulting her in Berlin
cafe. She went with him to London,
and 1 remember her well as a most
striking beauty. Well, Most, as you
know, was imprisoned, and then stories